The number of jobs available in Britain will remain below pre-recession levels
until 2024, an analysis has warned.

The TUC said if private sector companies continued to create jobs at the same rate as they have over the past decade, it would take 14 years before the country could make up for jobs lost during the recession.

In some areas of the country, such as Yorkshire and the Humber and the North West, it could take two decades, the union group said.

More than 1.3m private sector jobs have been lost since official figures for workplace jobs peaked at 31m in 2008, the study found.

About 2.2m jobs would have to be created to get the labour market back to pre-recession levels, the TUC warned.

TUC general secretary Brendan Barber said: "We may now be out of recession but this has yet to work through to any significant job creation. When the spending cuts start to bite and public sector job losses begin in earnest, the Government tells us that the private sector can make up the difference, but there are already many people who have lost private sector jobs chasing every vacancy."